Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson dies

Thunderbirds are go: Gerry Anderson looks at a model at a toy fair in London in 2005.

AFP: Adrian Dennis - file photo

The British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series Thunderbirds, Gerry Anderson, has died aged 83.

Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, causing him to be moved into a care home in October.

The animator created Joe 90, Stingray and Captain Scarlet, but he was best known for Thunderbirds, which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed Supermarionation.

The series, first shown in Britain in 1965, followed the adventures of a highly secretive organisation whose mission was to help those in peril using spacecraft and a range of high-tech vehicles operating from a Pacific island.

The characters' catchphrases, most famously "Thunderbirds are go", were incorporated into the vocabularies of a generation of young fans.

"I'm very sad to announce the death of my father, Thunderbirds creator, Gerry Anderson," his son Jamie announced on his personal website.

"He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years."

Earlier this year Anderson himself described how he became aware of his illness in an interview with the BBC.